Curved pleated product and method for manufacturing curved pleated product

ABSTRACT

[Problem] To provide a curved pleated product and a method for manufacturing curved pleated products, which dramatically increase the degree of freedom in pleat design and are capable of providing pleats of multiple variations and which impart a novel value to products, such as pleated clothing that gives an elegant or “sexy” impression. 
     [Solution] The curved pleated product has curved pleats ( 2 ) formed by joining together multiple fabric pieces ( 21 ), in which the two side edges (A, B, a, b) are formed as long curves, at the respective left and right side edges (A, B, a, b) along the contours of the two side edges (A, B, a, b) and alternating ridge folds and valley folds along the contours of said joined side edges (A, B, a, b).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a curved pleated product having acurved pleat and a method for manufacturing the curved pleated product.

BACKGROUND ART

There are garments such as a skirt, a one-piece dress, a blouse, andslacks or fabric products such as curtains known in the art that have agather called a pleat. The pleat is one of popular decoration because ofits beautiful impression due to the shade or its wearing comfort due tothe looseness in size.

Methods for forming a pleat in a product such as a garment that havebeen proposed so far include those of folding a cloth fabric like paperfolding to form a wrinkle and sewing a folded over fabric.

For example, Japanese Patent No. 2504931 proposes a processing methodfor forming a pleat in which a semi-finished product after sewing issubjected to a pleating machine to be machine-pleated, the semi-finishedproduct is then wrapped by a soft sheet having excellent breathabilityand heat-resistance, the soft sheet is twisted and bound up with string,and the semi-finished product is put into heat treatment equipment(Patent Literature 1). This processing method enables a variety ofdesigns and easily provides high value added pleated products.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 2504931

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Most pleats applied to conventional pleated products have linearlyformed gathers and lack variation. On the other hand, a wrinkled pleatcalled a twist pleat can be formed by using the invention described inPatent Literature 1. The twist pleat, however, is formed by wrapping asemi-finished product that is machine-pleated or hand-pleated with asoft sheet, twisting the soft sheet, bound it up with string, andheat-treating the semi-finished product, so that the method provides theentire pleated product with wrinkled and disordered pleat. Such a pleatundesirably impairs a sense of luxury of the product, and also, is notan orderly pleat with neatness, elegance, nor gracefulness. Inparticular, the invention of Patent Literature 1 cannot manufacture, forexample, a loosely waving curved pleat nor a tidily-aligned curvedpleat.

In addition, the conventional pleated products are each formed from asingle fabric, and thus, cannot have gathers each of which differs fromthe other in color, pattern, nor material. Accordingly, the conventionalpleated products can only give a beautiful impression due to the shade,and are undesirably limited to monotonous designs.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims toprovide a curved pleated product that has dramatically improvedflexibility of pleat design and thus can be rolled out in a wide varietyof variations and that can have new value, like clothing provided with apleat that gives a graceful or sensual impression, and also aims toprovide a method for manufacturing the curved pleated product.

Solution to Problem

A curved pleated product according to the present invention has a curvedpleat including a plurality of fabric pieces with longitudinally curvedopposite side edge portions, the fabric pieces including a plurality ofouter pleat pieces and a plurality of inner pleat pieces formed narrowerthan the outer pleat pieces, the curved pleat being formed byalternately arranging the outer pleat pieces and the inner pleat pieces,joining each adjacent fabric pieces along contours of opposing side edgeportions, and alternately forming a mountain fold and a valley foldalong the contours.

In an aspect of the present invention, the fabric pieces may includedifferent colors, different patterns, different materials, orcombinations thereof.

A method for manufacturing a curved pleated product according to thepresent invention includes cutting a plurality of outer pleat pieces anda plurality of inner pleat pieces out of a desired fabric, the outerpleat pieces each having longitudinally curved opposite side edgeportions, the inner pleat pieces each having side edge portions thatconform with the shapes of the side edge portions of the outer pleatpieces and being formed narrower than the outer pleat pieces, forming acurved pleat by alternately arranging the outer pleat pieces and theinner pleat pieces, joining each opposing side edge portions alongcontours of the opposing side edge portions, and alternately forming amountain fold and a valley fold along the contour of each side edgeportion, and attaching the curved pleat to a desired position of theproduct to manufacture the curved pleated product.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention dramatically enhances flexibility of pleat designto allow the pleat to be rolled out in a wide variety of variations, andcan add new value to a pleated product, such as clothing provided with apleat that gives a graceful or sensual impression.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a computer graphic image showing a front view of a curvedpleated garment, which is an embodiment of a curved pleated productaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a computer graphic image showing the back of the curvedpleated garment of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a skirt section of the curved pleated garmentof the embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows fabric pieces constituting curved pleat in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the skirt section of the curved pleated garmentof the embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows fabric pieces constituting curved pleat in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a skirt section of another embodiment of thecurved pleated garment.

FIG. 8 shows fabric pieces constituting curved pleat in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged front view of the skirt section of theembodiment where a lower edge is shown by a solid line and the otheredges are shown by dashed lines.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged front view of the skirt section of theembodiment shown in FIG. 7 where a lower edge is shown by a solid lineand the other edges are shown by dashed lines.

FIG. 11 is a computer graphic image showing the upper half of the curvedpleated garment of the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an invention according to the presentinvention will be described using the drawings.

A curved pleated product 1 has a curved pleat structure, and is agarment such as a skirt, a one-piece dress, a blouse, a party dress, orslacks or a product such as curtains that is decorated with a curvedpleat 2.

In the embodiment, a curved pleated garment 1 will be taken as anexample curved pleated product 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The curvedpleated garment 1 is provided with curved pleats 2 at a front of a skirtsection 11, and also, at a back of the skirt section 11, a chest section12, and right and left sleeve sections 13. The configuration of thecurved pleat 2 will be described mainly based on the curved pleat 2provided at the front of the skirt section 11.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the curved pleat 2 in the embodiment isformed by joining a plurality of fabric pieces 21 each havinglongitudinally curved opposite side edge portions, at the right and leftopposite side edge portions along the contours of the opposite side edgeportions and then folding the fabric along the contours of the joinedside edge portions, alternating between mountain folds and valley folds.That is, unlike a method for forming a pleat by making a fold like awrinkle on a cloth fabric or by sewing a folded over cloth fabric,surfaces constituting the gathers of the curved pleat 2 are formed fromfabric pieces 21 each cut into a different shape. These fabric pieces 21are joined together by sewing, crimping using an adhesive, or otherways, thereby forming the curved pleat 2.

The fabric pieces 21 of the curved pleat 2 are made of a cloth fabric ofcotton, silk, or other material, which can be used for garments,curtains, or other products, or made of a leather fabric includingnatural leather or synthetic leather, for example. The fabric is cutinto a predetermined shape using a pattern, or the like, to have theopposite side edge portions formed in longitudinal curves, as shown inFIG. 4. The fabric pieces 21 of the embodiment include outer pleatpieces 22 that appear on the outer side of the curved pleat 2 and innerpleat pieces 23 that stay on the inner side of the curved pleat 2. Thecurved pleat 2 is formed by alternately arranging the outer pleat pieces22 and the inner pleat pieces 23, and joining each opposing side edgeportions, which are formed in the same contour.

The outer pleat pieces 22 are fabric pieces 21 each havinglongitudinally curved left side edge portion A and right side edgeportion B. The contour of either right or left side edge portion A or Bappears on the outer side of the finished garment to give a beautifulimpression. In the embodiment, the contour of the left side edge portionA appears on the outer side, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4.

Similarly to the outer pleat pieces 22, the inner pleat pieces 23 arefabric pieces 21 each having longitudinally curved left side edgeportion a and right side edge portion b that respectively conform withthe shapes of the side edge portions A and B of each outer pleat piece22. In the embodiment, the outer pleat pieces 22 and the inner pleatpieces 23 are formed such that the left side edge portions A of theouter pleat pieces 22 and the left side edge portions a of the innerpleat pieces 23 have the same contour, and also, the right side edgeportions B of the outer pleat pieces 22 and the right side edge portionsb of the inner pleat pieces 23 have the same contour, as shown in FIG.4. In the embodiment, the right side edge portion B of the rightmostouter pleat piece 22 continues to the back side of the skirt section 11and the outer pleat piece 22 forms the side silhouette of the skirtsection 11. The left side edge portion A of the leftmost outer pleatpiece 22 and the right side edge portion B of the rightmost outer pleatpiece 22 may be formed in any shape.

In the embodiment, the inner pleat pieces 23 are formed to be narrowerthan the outer pleat pieces 22, as shown in FIG. 4. In this way, theinner pleat pieces 23 stay on the inner side of the finished curvedpleat 2, and also, the outer pleat pieces 22 and the inner pleat pieces23 are arranged such that the contours of the left side edge portions Aand the left side edge portions a are aligned laterally parallel to eachother, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The inner pleat pieces 23 may be setto any width, and do not have to be narrower than the outer pleat pieces22 and may be formed to have almost the same width with the outer pleatpieces 22.

In the embodiment, the curve shape appearing on the outer side of thecurved pleat 2 in FIG. 3 is defined by the contours of the left sideedge portions A and a of the outer pleat pieces 22 and the inner pleatpieces 23, but the curved shape is not limited to this and may bedefined by the contours of the right side edge portions B and b as shownin FIGS. 5 and 6.

The width of the inner pleat piece 23 is determined to meet the needsof, for example, how high the curved pleat 2 rises or how softly itflutters. For example, wider inner pleat pieces 23 as shown in FIGS. 3and 4 make deeper the valleys at the valley folds formed by each innerpleat piece 23 and the outer pleat piece 22 behind the inner pleat piece23 as shown in FIG. 9, thereby allowing the gathers to rise higher. Onthe other hand, narrower inner pleat pieces 23 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8make shallower the valleys as shown in FIG. 10, thereby reducing theheight of the rising gathers.

The fabric pieces 21 may include different colors, different patterns,different materials, or combinations thereof. For example, the color ofthe inner pleat pieces 23 may be different from that of the outer pleatpieces 22. In that case, the inner pleat pieces 23 are hidden insidewhen a wearer is standing still, while they appear when the wearermoves, providing an excellent accent in design. Also, a lace fabric maybe used for some of the plurality of outer pleat pieces 22, achieving agorgeous or fascinating design.

The curved pleat 2 is formed by joining the plurality of fabric pieces21 described above. Now, a description will be made of a method formanufacturing the curved pleated product, including how the fabricpieces 21 are joined together, taking a garment as an example.

First, the longitudinally curved outer pleat pieces 22 and inner pleatpieces 23 are cut out of a desired fabric. In the embodiment, as shownin FIG. 4, the plurality of outer pleat pieces 22 and the plurality ofinner pleat pieces 23 are cut out of the fabric. The outer pleat pieces22 are cut out such that they each has longitudinally curved oppositeside edge portions A and B. The inner pleat pieces 23 are cut out suchthat they each has side edge portions a and b that conform with theshapes of the side edge portions A and B of the corresponding outerpleat pieces 22 and such that they are narrower than the outer pleatpieces 22.

Next, the outer pleat pieces 22 and the inner pleat pieces 23 having theside edge portions a and b that conform with the side edge portions Aand B of the outer pleat pieces 22 are aligned alternately, and eachopposing side edge portions are sewed together along their contours. Inthe embodiment, each right side edge portion B of the outer pleat pieces22 and the corresponding right side edge portion b of the inner pleatpieces 23 are sewed together along their contours and each left sideedge portion A of the outer pleat pieces 22 and the corresponding leftside edge portion a of the inner pleat pieces 23 are sewed togetheralong their contours, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thus, the fabric pieces21 are tidily joined together along the contours of the opposite sideedge portions.

The side edge portions A, B, a, and b of the fabric pieces 22 and 23 maybe stitched together in any ways as long as they will not frayed, andthe stitch type is appropriately selected from, running stitch, reversestitch, overcast stitch, blind stitch, and other stitches. A core suchas wire may be inserted along the contours in order to prevent the pleatfrom losing its curved contour. The fabric pieces 21 may be joinedtogether by crimping using an adhesive, instead by sewing.

Next, the joined outer pleat pieces 22 and inner pleat pieces 23 arefolded along the contours of the sewed side edge portions A, B, a, andb. Here, the joined fabric is folded to alternate between mountain foldsand valley folds. Thus, the outer pleat pieces 22 are arranged on theouter side and the inner pleat pieces 23 are arranged on the inner sideas shown in FIG. 1, thereby forming the curved pleat 2. In theembodiment, the folded fabric is pressed to put folds at the contours ofthe side edge portions A, B, a, and b.

The joined fabric may be folded such that the stitches are hidden on theinner side or appear on the outer side according to the design. Theouter pleat pieces 22 and the inner pleat pieces 23 are sewed togetherand then the joined fabric is folded along the contours in theembodiment, while the fabric may be folded as needed every time an outerpleat piece 22 and an inner pleat piece 23 is sewed together along thecontour.

Finally, the formed curved pleat 2 is sewed on the garment at a desiredposition to manufacture the curved pleated garment. In this way, thecurved pleat 2 can be arranged on a garment freely at a desired positionwithout any design constraints. For example, in the embodiment, a slitis formed at the front center of the skirt section 11, and the curvedpleat 2 is sewed to the right of the slit, as shown in FIG. 1.Similarly, the curved pleated product 1 of the embodiment has curvedpleats 2 sewed thereto at the back of the skirt section 11, the chestsection 12, and the right and left sleeve sections 13, as shown in FIGS.1 and 2. Thus, the curved pleat 2 can be attached to various portions.

Now, operation of each configuration in the curved pleated product 1 ofthe embodiment will be described.

In the curved pleat 2, the curved contours of the left side edgeportions A of the outer pleat pieces 22 appear in a laterally alignedmanner, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Thus, the curved pleat 2 can give abeautiful impression due to the pleat design with the beautiful curvesthat cannot be achieved by conventional techniques, to those who look atthe curved pleat 2. Such a curved pleat 2 has high design flexibility,thereby adding various beautiful impressions like a neat impression, acharming impression, or a graceful and sensual impression.

In addition, the height of the rising each gather of the pleat can bechanged by increasing or decreasing the width of the inner pleat pieces23 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Accordingly, it is possible to adjust howmuch the pleat flutters or how high it rises to meet the needs. Forexample, wider inner pleat pieces 23 as shown in FIG. 9 allow the curvedpleat 2 to easily flutter softly and slowly, and thus this tends toemphasize the gracefulness and makes the curved pleat 2 elegant. Incontrast, narrower inner pleat pieces 23 as shown in FIG. 10 reduce theweight of the inner pleat pieces 23 to make the curved pleat 2 moveeasily, and thus the inner pleat pieces 23 tend to appear and disappearwhenever the wearer moves.

The curved contours of the left side edge portions A in the outer pleatpieces 22 appearing on the outer side have a role to define the pleatdesign and the outer pleat pieces 22 may be designed to have any desiredcontour. As a result, a manufacturer can easily achieve a desired designimage.

Also, while not shown in the figure, the outer pleat pieces 22 and theinner pleat pieces 23 may include different colors, different patterns,different materials, or combinations thereof, thereby improving theaesthetic effect of the curved pleat 2. For example, when a see-throughmaterial is used for one of the fabric pieces 21, the effect is that thecurved pleat 2 looks as if it was provided with a slit. Alternatively,when a color of the outer pleat pieces 22 is different from that of theinner pleat pieces 23, the three-dimensionality of the curved pleat 2 isemphasized.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 11, there are only few limits onthe position to provide or the size of the curved pleat 2, which meansthe curved pleated product 1 itself has high flexibility. For example,the curved pleat 2 may be arranged spirally on a skirt portion of awedding dress, making the dress gorgeous.

The above embodiment provides the following effects.

1. The shape, color, pattern, material, and the like of each fabricpiece 21 may be selected freely, and thus this dramatically enhances thepleat design flexibility, allowing the curved pleat 2 to be rolled outin a wide variety of variations.2. The arrangement position of the curved pleat 2 can be selectedfreely, and thus this makes the curved pleated product 1 highly flexiblein kind, shape, and the like, allowing the curved pleated product 1 tobe rolled out in a wide variety of variations.3. The curved pleat 2 can add new value to the curved pleated product 1,including various beautiful impressions like a neat impression, acharming impression, or a graceful and sensual impression, and a senseof luxury.4. It is possible to appropriately adjust how much each gather of thepleat flutters or how high it rises, by appropriately selecting thewidth of each fabric piece 21, and accordingly, the curved pleatedproduct 1 can also be provided with functionality such as ease ofmobility.

The curved pleated product according to the present invention and themethod for manufacturing the same is not limited to the aboveembodiment, and can be changed as appropriate.

For example, the embodiment has been described taking a dress as anexample curved pleated garment, while the curved pleated product 1 isnot limited to a garment and can be applied to a variety of products,such as curtains. Also, in addition to the cloth fabric or the leatherfabric, fabrics of other materials may be employed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Curved pleated product-   2 Curved pleat-   11 Skirt section-   12 Chest section-   13 Sleeve section-   21 Fabric piece-   22 Outer pleat piece-   23 Inner pleat piece-   A Left side edge portion of outer pleat piece-   B Right side edge portion of outer pleat piece-   a Left side edge portion of inner pleat piece-   b Right side edge portion of inner pleat piece

1. A curved pleated product having a curved pleat including a pluralityof fabric pieces with longitudinally curved opposite side edge portions,the fabric pieces including a plurality of outer pleat pieces and aplurality of inner pleat pieces formed narrower than the outer pleatpieces, the curved pleat being formed by alternately arranging the outerpleat pieces and the inner pleat pieces, joining each adjacent fabricpieces along contours of opposing side edge portions, and alternatelyforming a mountain fold and a valley fold along the contours.
 2. Thecurved pleated product according to claim 1, wherein the fabric piecesinclude different colors, different patterns, different materials, orcombinations thereof.
 3. A method for manufacturing a curved pleatedproduct comprising: cutting a plurality of outer pleat pieces and aplurality of inner pleat pieces out of a desired fabric, the outer pleatpieces each having longitudinally curved opposite side edge portions,the inner pleat pieces each having side edge portions that conform withthe shapes of the side edge portions of the outer pleat pieces and beingformed narrower than the outer pleat pieces; forming a curved pleat byalternately arranging the outer pleat pieces and the inner pleat pieces,joining each opposing side edge portions along contours of the opposingside edge portions, and alternately forming a mountain fold and a valleyfold along the contour of each side edge portion; and attaching thecurved pleat to a desired position of the product to manufacture thecurved pleated product.